El and Onine by K.P. Ambroziak

El is a breed of being that inhabits Terra. Onine is a Kyprian from the planet Venus. Since Venusian settlers colonized Terra long before El was born, she has only ever known life under their control. She admires the delicate creatures and their goddess, Kypria, though she has never seen the one whose devotees rule her world. With their future and their past fused forever, Onine offers El a glimpse of his goddess, an experience from which she will never recover.

I fell in love with Ambroziak's previous works.  She has a classical way of telling a story that's both compelling and relaxing.  It's easy to find yourself lost in her world, without being dragged out by poor grammar or parts of the story that just don't make sense.  There's a nice flow and you can just lay back and delve in.

This book fell a little short for me.  It still has the same writing style and story-telling that I find so intriguing, but the subject matter left me wanting.  Honestly, I think the biggest problem I had with it is that there tends to be a bit too much of the element of romance for me.  Though it's necessary for the story, I just didn't like the characters enough to really care about their romance or what it meant for the rest of the world.

Now, being a fantasy story, she's introduced other races and worlds.  It's done so effortlessly and flawlessly.  Everything is put into the story line without you having to sit and read a bunch of back story or facts or even a 'new word' dictionary.  The characters pull everything in for you so you just transition right in.  The races are different than any I have seen, but not different enough that I was uncomfortable with them.  Also, the way that she tells the story definitely gives you that glossy, semi-blurry fantasy feel.  It's not a story of what is as we see it, but a story of what may be.

Ambroziak continues to do her story telling in the first person and I'm thankful for it.  Her talent for getting into the mind of each character is astounding.  On the down side, I don't think these characters really had that much in their minds to begin with.  Ambroziak did all she could with them, but they're a little different.  El isn't really simple, but she's a slave and not given to much higher thinking than that.  Onine is a Kyprian and he's obsessed with a choice few tidbits.  That's what we have to work with.  

Had anyone else written this book, I honestly wouldn't have given it a second glance, let alone read it.  However, once you've read one Ambroziak book you have to read everything she puts out there.  I don't regret reading it and it definitely will have lots of fans out there.  It just isn't my genre.  Those who enjoy fantasy and science fiction will love this one.

 

 

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.  Shawn